


To Keep You Warm

by carpe_cullen



Series: Red Templar!Cullen AU [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Red Lyrium Cullen, like very minimal angst, sorta angsty?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 14:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5629711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpe_cullen/pseuds/carpe_cullen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen has a confrontation with the Commander of the Inquisition leaving him doubting the relationship that has begun to grow between him and Emilie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Keep You Warm

A bitter cold had set in Skyhold within a month’s time. Everyone bundled themselves in layers and stayed indoors when they could. But even the weather couldn’t stop him from needing to walk along the battlements daily. As time progressed, he found his withdrawal symptoms varying in degrees of pain each day. Some days, he would only feel a dull throb in the back of his head but there were also days where he couldn’t even shift in his bed without tears stinging his eyes. But he made himself get up and go on that walk. Not only did it alleviate some of his pain, but Emilie would join him when she could, giving him just another reason to look forward to the battlements.

He had been growing closer to her since he’s awoken from his coma, there would be long dinners in the hall, their walks, she had even brought him to the library once to show them the collection of books. But their time together hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, everything he does is noticed, especially by her closest companions. Everyone watches him with a careful eye, whispered concerns about if he would turn on them as they slept or what his true intentions were with the Inquisition - or better yet, with the Inquisitor. Some wouldn’t even exchange any words with him, specifically Varric, who seemed to have a word for everyone. He didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms, the negativity thrown his way was normal but it certainly made time more lonesome when Emilie wasn’t in Skyhold.

The last time she left for just a few days had been the worst of it though. He was on his walk when he heard a heavy set of footsteps quickly approaching behind him. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the Commander of the Inquisition marching towards him, his jaw set in stone. Ser Barris. He’s heard the name before, spread around like fire on men’s tongues in Therinfal before it’s demise. Barris had left just a few months before Cullen had arrived there. The templars said he left in fear from a terror-filled dream of the fortress falling, others said that he took a promotion in the ranks elsewhere and then there were few that just said he disappeared. But he supposed the rumors no longer mattered now that the man was in front of him.

“Commander,” he greeted pleasantly enough. The two barely exchanged words since his arrival, but there have been looks, as though daggers were shooting from the man’s eyes in hopes of cutting him down.

“ _Afternoon_ ,” he said back, standing as strong as a fortress itself in front of him. His arms crossed his chest, the metal gauntlets scraping across his chestplate, the Templar emblem blazed across them. His lips formed a tight line as they stared at each other, the silence growing between them becoming uncomfortable.

“Is…there something you needed?” Cullen asked, his stature straightening as he put up his guard.

“I’ve noticed you with the Inquisitor,” he said gruffly. “I see the way you look at her and you’re wasting your time.”

“I hardly think that’s any of your business,” he replied, shifting his weight between his feet as his jaw tightened. “Last I knew, you were in charge of the Inquisition’s forces and that doesn’t include taking note on who Emilie spends time with.” Cullen felt a slight peak of arrogance when he noticed the irked expression on the Commander’s face when he mentioned her first name and he began to wonder there was a pang of jealousy that caused this confrontation.

“Do you think she would ever feel the same as you? Can you not see that you’re merely just _a pet_ to her?” Barris asked, his gazed sharpened. “You’re only a mutant in her eyes. A beast that needs _taming_. _A project_ to keep her busy.”

Cullen fell silent. The logical part of him knew that the words were coming from a place of hatred for him, but his worst fear came creeping back into his mind, like vines coiling around him and attempting to drag him back into the darkness. He thought that…maybe she could return the feelings he held for her, at least, one day. But he’s heard the whispers around Skyhold, reminding him of what he really was. Had he truly changed? On the outside, he looked like his old self, but that doesn’t change all that he’s done, all the blood he’s spilled.

_A beast. Mutant_. That’s all he would ever be.

But his mind dwelled on his words every day that she was gone, specifically “a project”. She couldn’t look at him that way, could she? By the time she did return, the words had played in his mind so many times that he grew agitated. All this time, after spending hours upon hours together, he thought that there was a chance. But it was clear to him now that he was only chasing a fool’s dream.

He was on the battlements when he saw her and her party come galloping through the gates and he knew it wouldn’t be long until she found him. The cold wind bit at the skin of his neck, his body curling in on itself to protect himself. Within a half hour of her arrival, he heard the familiar footsteps quickly coming from behind him.

“Cullen!” she called out, running up next to him. He turned his head slightly towards her, a pang hitting his heart as her beauty astounded him once again. Her cheeks were a bright pink from the wind and a wide smile was plastered across them.

“ _Inquisitor_ ,” he greeted, trying to distance himself, his gaze returning to the stretch of mountains in the distance. In his peripheral, he could see her brows knit together, her smile disappearing.

“Inquisitor?” she asked, a small, almost missable, quake in her tone. “When I left a week ago, you were calling me by my first name.”

“That was before…” he paused, sighing deeply before continuing. “Before I was reminded of _my place_ here. Whatever I am, you’re my superior and I should use the respective titles.”

“ _Whatever you are_? And what do you think that is, exactly?” she asked. He could feel her hand come to rest on his shoulder. The touch was comforting, healing, and for a moment, he wanted to lean into it. _You’re merely just a pet_ , Barris’ voice rang quietly. Instead, he leaned away from her, letting her hand fall back to her side.

“I’m still just a _monster_. You think of me as something you can fix, _a project_ and I’m not. You can’t change what happened, the things I’ve done. So you may as well give up on me, stop wasting your time,” he muttered.

“Who said that to you?” she asked, her voice sharp and unwavering now. He chanced a look at her and was a bit shaken. Her eyes were wide, lips pursed and her arms were now gripping a wrapped package he failed to notice before. “ _Who said it_?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters because it’s complete _bullshit_ ,” she told him. “You’re not something to keep me occupied, you’re nothing something that needs fixing. You’re a man, more so than half of the Inquisition itself. I’m not spending time with you out of pity, I’m here because I…” she paused, her gaze faltering. His breathing hitched as her words fell silent, as her expression softened.

“Because you…?” he prompted. She looked back to him, taking a step closer and he smiled faintly as the smell of lavender came to surround him.

“I’ve…come to _care_ about you. As in… _more_ than friendship,” she murmured, her teeth raking over her bottom lip and her fingers playing with the twine on the package. His jaw dropped slightly, heart stopping as her words filled his mind, pushing away the negativity. There was a heavy moment of silence between them, he struggled to find the right words to say, frozen in place and each afraid of making a move. After several more moments, he finally took a step towards her, his hands hesitantly moving to cover hers.

“As have I,” he whispered, his head dipping slightly to meet her eyes, “ _Emilie_.”

Another long pause as her eyes finally came back to his and she chuckled nervously.

“Right, well, I…” she started, shifting her weight between her feet, “I should go and rest….but we should talk… _later. About this_.”

“ _Alright_ ,” he said softly, the scar on his lip stretching as he smiled, his hands slowly sliding away from hers as she turned towards the stairs of the battlements. Before getting too far, she turned sharply around again.

“Oh! This is for you,” she said, coming back to him with the package outstretched. “As an early Satinalia present.”

She turned away from him as soon as he took the present, quickly retreating to, what he assumed, her quarters. Once she was finally out of sight, his focus moved to the gift in his hands. It was a large, soft package wrapped in a dark cloth with twine wrapping it shut. There was a small card beneath it with the finely written words ‘ _To Keep You Warm_ ’.

He opened the package carefully, pulling at the ties and letting the cloth fall away. His eyebrows rose in surprise and his smile grew wide as the present was revealed. Inside laid a beautiful deep red cloak with a gold trim and a dark red and black fur mantle. His hand ran over the soft fur and he chuckled to himself as the air around him no longer made him cold, his body becoming warm as his mind raced to thoughts of what _later_ would bring.

**Author's Note:**

> All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!! <3


End file.
